Standing in front of pillars being constructed for Mumbai’s Coastal Road in Mora Gaon, Juhu beach, Manav Mangela showed off the haul from the two-hour fishing trip he had taken with his cousin and uncle that morning. Their catch has earned them around Rs 1,500, barely enough to support a family in one of India’s most expensive cities.

Until three decades ago, their village was on the edge of an estuary and they had easy access to the water. But now, the mudflats have been filled over and the shore is contaminated by industrial waste and plastic.

The Mangela family are Kolis, members of the indigenous fishing community that have lived in Mumbai centuries before it became India’s financial capital. An estimated 500,000 Kolis still live in the city, though only 20% still depend on artisanal fishing for a living.

Their habitations and way of life have long been under threat from landsharks and toxic levels of oceanic pollution off the city shore. But this new infrastructure project may now finally put an end to it all.

The Coastal Road – one of Mumbai’s largest infrastructure projects, costing Rs 14,977 crore ($1.8 billion) – promises faster travel for car owners between South Mumbai and the city’s western...

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